


it's just the thought of you

by afrocurl



Category: X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - Fandom, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Charles Xavier has a Ph.D in Adorable, Concerts, Erik is a Troll, Hanukkah, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-27
Updated: 2014-09-27
Packaged: 2018-02-19 00:12:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2367104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afrocurl/pseuds/afrocurl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erik planned to surprise Billy with one of the best Hanukkah presents, but in the end, the gift had a way of surprising Erik as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	it's just the thought of you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ninemoons42](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ninemoons42/gifts).



> Happy Birthday PJ! I hope you enjoy this little slice of Weezer and Erik, the probably hipster grandpa.
> 
> Everything here takes place around 2010, as that's when these shows happened.

Usually Erik tended to ignore the chatter about upcoming tours when he listened to the radio, but today the DJ said something about Weezer and a small intimate tour - only eight shows announced - made Erik take particular notice one early morning. Charles had been off in the city for a few meetings and so Erik had been able to listen to the one radio in the den without hearing anything negative about why Erik still fancied rock music compared to the classics. (Erik did appreciate the classics, but he always felt a stronger affinity towards strumming guitars with large amplifiers around them.)

The DJ had said after that Weezer was about to do their shortest tour - and that was different compared to anything else Erik had heard the band do before. This time, they wanted to play both _Weezer_ \- Blue to everyone else - and _Pinkerton_ front to back on two consecutive nights. It was about as perfect a Hanukkah gift for Billy if Erik ever saw one, and so it wasn’t hard at all to buy two VIP tickets when they went on sale for each show.

He would never be stupid enough to allow Billy to go into the city by himself for a concert, even as a junior in high school. Not without fearing any of Wanda’s wrath for her son and everything else that could go wrong for him, if he got interested in a spell on the way there or back.

-

Erik had saved giving his Hanukkah presents to both Billy and Tommy for the last night, because he was the sort of grandfather who wanted to taunt and torture his grandsons with how much he knew they wanted something. Charles always chastised him for being cruel - dangling carrots out before the horses - but Erik had long loved being slightly different when it came to how he interacted with everyone. He blamed all those stints in prison, and how much of the foil he had to be to Charles and the X-Men, but Erik knew that no one actually believed it. He was just the sort of grandfather who was more friend than authority figure.

It made no matter to him, however, because he desperately wanted for Billy to be surprised. Billy had been following the tour so far, even though he hadn’t been able to buy tickets because Wanda hadn’t allowed him use of her credit card (and had sulked about it for weeks). The dates in Los Angeles were especially noteworthy to Billy - he had gone on and on about Jorge Garcia singing with the band - and so Erik knew that so long as he could avoid telling Billy about their trip to the city later in the month, he’d have more to talk about with Billy. Billy hadn’t stopped talking about the recaps and tweets after Thanksgiving, just as he hadn’t stopped asked if Erik thought that all of the shows would be the same set. Tommy was just waiting for anything to get Billy to stop talking about his favorite band; Erik felt like he should have bought a ticket for Tommy too, even if he’d never appreciate the show just for spite. He’d resisted - barely - and purchased Tommy a plane ticket to go visit his uncle Pietro so that they could raise holy hell far far away from Erik.

That didn’t matter now because it was the last night of Hanukkah and the mansion was a bustle of everyone celebrating the last night together. Kitty was there, as she always was, and that made the moment just a bit better; this was the first time that Billy and Tommy would have been in the mansion for the holiday and he knew that everyone in the house had made a point to make a great dinner after they lit the final set of candles. 

With the four of them all standing around the hanukiah, and the rest of the house around if they wished, Erik set to work on getting everything in order before Billy cast a quiet spell that arranged all the candles in order and set one alight before it danced across the other candles and soon the room was filled with soft light from nine small candles.

Wordlessly, the gifts were all passed out and Erik watched to see what both Billy and Tommy thought of their gifts carefully tucked inside some generic Hanukkah cards. As soon as Billy opened the card, he started to jump around the room with a squee so loud Erik felt he lost some of his already failing hearing. Tommy was more restrained, but he did give Erik a smile before he walked away towards the kitchen.

“Grandpa! This is the best! You are the best. You knew I wanted this right?”

Erik simply nodded. “You and I will be going together. Don’t say I can’t appreciate Rivers Cuomo either.”

“Duh,” Billy replied drolly with a roll of his eyes, "you’ve only told me how much you wanted to serenade Grandpa Charles with songs since I met you both.”

Erik smiled at that, gave Billy a nod and they left the lounge for dinner in the kitchen, content to know that they would still have much to discuss before and after the show.

-

As prepared (or over-prepared) as Erik always was, he had no problems trolling through Weezer’s website and social media looking for clues about the upcoming shows. He, of course, knew what half the show was, but the other half made him nervous. Would Billy’s favorite song make the cut? Billy hadn’t mentioned it in his talks about the previous dates so far, but that might be nothing. Would everyone be so obnoxious that seeing two of his favorite albums performed live would be a horrible experience rather than a great one? Was he really too old for this sort of show in his seventies?

He sat there concerned, but decided that this was his gift to Billy - not one for himself - and tried to put everything he had imagined out of his mind.

-  
Charles’ apartment in the city made it convenient for their excursion and once Erik was at the show, he was glad that Charles was filthy rich.

The show was as he expected: their VIP seats near the wings of the stage giving them a view that rivaled any other concert Erik had been to. Billy was bouncing up and down like a happy puppy. It was excellent to see Billy’s bright smile before everything around them went dark and the first show began.

The show began with one of Weezer’s current hits, - not one of his favorite songs and more Billy’s style which was relatable to Billy’s generation. By the sixth song, however, Billy’s whole mood had shifted as Brian Bell started to sing; rather than the contained glee Billy had earlier, he was now happily singing along as if there was nothing else that mattered. In its own way, “Keep Fishin’” was a song Erik enjoyed, the guitars mixing well with lyrics that were innocent enough if still pointed. He would never tell Billy, but the lyrics of the song reminded him of himself in his youth, when he had first met Charles and how they had never gotten it right.

Everything else in the first half was a blur after that; the songs more Billy’s style to his. The one song from _Pinkerton_ made him smile softly, thinking of Charles. Just as he was remembering what he had done to find himself at Charles’ side again, the crowd went loud as the set ended, lights coming on.

Erik gave Billy a look, but it was clear that Billy wanted nothing to do with Erik right now. Billy had found a few other kids in the VIP section, mixed with a few celebrities that seemed impressed by their appearance at the show. Erik smiled and let Billy have his fun before he tried to find someplace he could sit for a few minutes. He might be an omega-class mutant, but he knew he was getting on in years and that meant perhaps he needed rest from all the standing.

He mentally asked if he had the power to make it through another half of the show and tomorrow’s too.

-

The entire audience sang along all through the second half of the show and by the time that “Only in Dreams” opening riff started, Erik was nearly high on how absorbed and rapt everyone else was in the show. Billy looked about the same as Erik felt - metaphorically high on the power of one song that carried so much power - and as the show ended and everyone left, Billy couldn’t stop yelling about how awesome everything was.

Erik just wanted to sleep and recuperate enough to do this all over again tomorrow night.

-

Waking up was more difficult than Erik wanted to admit, but he pulled himself from out of the covers and made his way into the kitchen for coffee and more food. If he didn’t keep up his energy today, he wasn’t sure he could make it through the show. Billy was already up - which was unusual for a weekend - and he was practically vibrating as he went about making breakfast.

“Want some?” Billy asked and all Erik could do was nod his approval.

“You had fun last night?” Erik said, rather than think overmuch about what Billy was cooking.

“I did! You kept telling me to dial my excitement down as we walked home.”

Erik hadn’t really forgotten, but he was looking for a conversation starter this morning. It was rare that he and Billy had time to talk like this: just like a regular family rather than something strained and awkward.

“Well, do you think tonight will live up to yesterday?”

Billy started to flip pancakes up in the air, saying nothing as he did, and Erik let the conversation go. The smell of pancakes was a welcome distraction to thoughts of anything else.

-

The mood for _Pinkerton_ ’s show was mellow whereas _Weezer_ was highly energetic, but the crowds were no less enthusiastic about what was to come. It was just as if the energy was happy to bubble on the edge of release; it reminded Erik of potential energy that he felt on occasions as magnetic fields shifted and slid into place.

Billy looked more curiously around the subdued audience - their discussions not as loud as yesterday, their clothes a little less outrageous - but the prospect of a different set before _Pinkerton_ more than made up for it, Erik imagined. There were more than a few people who had been at the show last night, but there were also more fans who looked like Erik did tonight: flannel shirts over tees, beanies, scuffed boots and jeans that were maybe a little too tight for comfort. His own sweater and tighter jeans (why had he kept his jeans from the 70s?) compared, he didn’t care, because he was here more so Billy could be here. (He lied to himself very well when it came to it.)

Shifting his mind away from the crowd, Erik was looking forward to the different set, if only because it would be another night before they returned to the mansion and the concerts would be over. 

The first sounds of the set rang all through the ballroom and Erik turned his thoughts away from Sunday night and Westchester and towards a new set of memories made from the show.

-

The ending verse of “Butterfly” always choked Erik up. He had expressed his appreciation for the album to Charles on the day that he finally walked back into the mansion’s foyer, though he had left out the part as to why.

In truth, Erik conquered his own demons and had what the protagonist in “Butterfly” had never done: return.

The finals chords echoed around the room and Erik was lost in the memories of being apart and almost losing Charles forever had he not returned. With a jolt, Erik found himself back in the present, Billy’s hand squeezing on Erik’s forearm.

Erik would never regret the path he'd chosen and the choices he'd made, but Charles and Westchester were home and he was sorry it took him so long to return.

“Grandpa, let’s go back to the apartment. I’ll call Grandpa Charles to meet us in the morning.”

Erik nodded and let himself be led from the ballroom towards the Upper West Side.

-

A warmth surrounded Erik when he woke, one that he wasn’t expecting. There was a mental blanket that was keeping him drowsy while a solid weight pressed against his back.

_You’ll always come back to me now,_ Charles mentally said before he let go of Erik’s waist. _We have all the time today to stay like this._

“Always,” was all Erik could say, and it was all he needed to say.

Drifting off once again, Erik’s mind plucked lyrics here and there from the last two nights that mattered to him, mattered to he and Charles. 

_you’ll never be a better kind_ he thought before he hoped that Billy would not catch the two of them having a day together, cuddling each other.

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from a lyric of one of PJ's favorite Weezer songs, "Keep Fishin'", as is the end lyric Erik thinks of.
> 
> Thanks to Di and Kage for the beta, and at this point all errors are my own.


End file.
